wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

NEW

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

The Boys in the Boat - Part 1

Total questions: 78

Worksheet time: 39mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

What friend of Joe Rantz was a central figure in one of Daniel James Brown's earlier books according to the author in the prologue?

a)

Angus Hay Jr

b)

George A Wyman

c)

Tom Bolles

d)

Byron Noble

2.

On what date does the author begin his narrative in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through, Chapter 1

a)

July 1, 1933

b)

March 12, 1933

c)

December 14, 1933

d)

October 9, 1933

3.

In the fourth year of the Great Depression how many Americans had no job or prospect of finding one according to the author in Part 1: What Seasons They Have Been Through

a)

2 million people

b)

20 million people

c)

10 million people

d)

4 million people

4.

When was Franklin D. Roosevelt inaugurated President of the United States?

a)

December 14, 1930

b)

October 9, 1933

c)

July 1, 1932

d)

March 4, 1933

5.

Who accompanied Joe Rantz as he made his way to the University of Washington crew tryouts in Part 1?

a)

Byron Noble

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

George A Wyman

d)

Roger Morris

6.

Where were the University of Washington crew tryouts held in Part 1?

a)

Arcata Bay

b)

Montlake Cut

c)

Langer See

d)

Jackson Bay

7.

What word refers to the person that verbally controls a boat's steering, speed, timing, and fluidity in competitive rowing?

a)

Stroke

b)

Sweep

c)

Coxswain

d)

Scull

8.

Who was the freshman rowing coach for University of Washington in 1933

a)

Byron Noble

b)

Al Ulbrickson

c)

Tom Bolles

d)

George A Wyman

9.

Who was the head coach for University of Washington rowing program in 1933

a)

Byron Noble

b)

Al Ulbrickson

c)

Tom Bolles

d)

George A Wyman

10.

What was the name of Joe Rantz's father?

a)

James Rantz

b)

Michael Rantz

c)

Harry Rantz

d)

Frank Rantz

11.

What was Joe Rantz's mother's maiden name?

a)

Nellie Maxwell

b)

Thula Maxwell

c)

Marie Anderson

d)

Sarah Smith

12.

In what year did the Wright brothers make the first controlled human flight?

a)

1903

b)

1889

c)

1919

d)

1925

13.

Who was the first person to cross the United States by motor vehicle, traveling by motorcycle from San Francisco to New York?

a)

Roger Morris

b)

Angus Hay Jr.

c)

George A Wyman

d)

Tom Bolles

14.

In what year did Joe Rantz's parents marry?

a)

1899

b)

1882

c)

1915

d)

1875

15.

What was unusual about the manner in which Joe Rantz's parents married?

a)

They were married in an airplane

b)

They were married over the internet

c)

They were married over the telephone

d)

They were married on a mountaintop

16.

From where did Joe Rantz's parents move to Spokane after they married?

a)

Little Rock, Arkansas

b)

Newark, New Jersey

c)

Cleveland, Ohio

d)

Williamsport, Pennsylvania

17.

On what date was Joe Rantz born?

a)

October 9, 1918

b)

March 31, 1914

c)

March 4, 1909

d)

jULY 1, 1933

18.

What was the name of Joe's aunt that he was sent to live with after his mother died?

a)

Ellen

b)

Sarah

c)

Alma

d)

Marie

19.

What word from Part 1 refers to an even balance or distribution of weight?

a)

Ellipses

b)

Posterior

c)

Equipose

d)

Elocution

20.

What is the Olympic standard distance for all rowing events?

a)

2000 meters

b)

1000 meters

c)

500 meters

d)

2500 meters

21.

When was George Pocock born?

a)

March 31, 1914

b)

December 14, 1895

c)

March 23, 1891

d)

October 9, 1900

22.

In what country was George Pocock born?

a)

Great Britain

b)

Belgium

c)

United States

d)

Ireland

23.

What term refers to a boat with a narrow, flat bottom, high bow, and flaring sides

a)

Dinghy

b)

Dory

c)

Kayak

d)

Clipper

24.

What was the name of the custom built sectional boat that sir Henry Stanley used to search for Dr. David Livingstone in Central Africa in 1874?

a)

The Whitehorse

b)

Lady Alice

c)

The Green Dragon

d)

SS Manhattan

25.

George Pocock grew up in and around the boathouse of what prominent school?

a)

Harvard University

b)

Yale University

c)

Eton College

d)

Winchester College

26.

On what date did George Pocock and his brother Dick first arrive in Vancouver Canada?

a)

December 14, 1930

b)

March 31, 1914

c)

March 11, 1911

d)

March 23, 1891

27.

In what year did Hiram Conibear die?

a)

1945

b)

1925

c)

1936

d)

1917

28.

Where did Harry go to fetch a doctor when Thula went into labor in November 1924?

a)

Sequim, Washington

b)

Mammoth, California

c)

Bonners Ferry, Idaho

d)

San Francisco, California

29.

What was the name of the family that Joe's father took Joe to live with near the Hama Hama Logging Company in 1924?

a)

The Jacksons

b)

The Andersons

c)

The Schwartzs

d)

The Rosses

30.

Which word from the narrative refers to a boat race?

a)

Sculler

b)

Intaglio

c)

Rampart

d)

Regatta

31.

How many inches of rain does the author describe falling at the University of Washington during the course of a month of flooding in Part 1?

a)

14 and a quarter inches

b)

12 and three quarters of an inch

c)

10 and a half inches

d)

19 and a half inches

32.

In part 1, on what date does the author say it began to rain in Seattle as it had never rained before and has never rained since"

a)

March 4, 1933

b)

December 2, 1933

c)

July 1, 1933

d)

March 31, 1914

33.

What was one of the derogatory nicknames that the richer students of the University of Washington called Joe Rantz?

a)

Smokey Joe

b)

Hobo Joe

c)

Chief Joe

d)

Jumpin Joe

34.

When was the Aurora Bridge opened?

a)

1936

b)

1929

c)

1932

d)

1934

35.

What was the name of the University of Washington student that accidentally set himself on fire during a bonfire and was killed in 1933?

a)

Roger Morris

b)

Angus Hay Jr

c)

Byron Noble

d)

Willis Thompson

36.

What was the name of Roger Morris's family's moving business?

a)

The Jackson Movers

b)

The Franklin Transfer Company

c)

The Morris Renovation Company

d)

The Williamstown Moving Company

37.

What was the name of the swing band that Roger Morris played with for extra money on the weekends while attending school at the University of Washington?

a)

The Black Jackets

b)

The White Notes

c)

The Green Keys

d)

The Blue Lyres

38.

How far did Roger Morris walk to the University of Washington each day from his parents' home in Fremont?

a)

5.5 miles

b)

1.5 miles

c)

2.5 miles

d)

16 miles

39.

How many of the original 175 boys were still in competition for a seat in the first two freshman boats at the University of Washington on October 30, 1933?

a)

80

b)

100

c)

65

d)

108

40.

How old was Joe Rantz when his father and Thula abandoned him in Sequim

a)

12

b)

10

c)

15

d)

17

41.

Who was the bootlegger that Joe and Harry stole liquor from to sell on the black market during the Great Depression in Sequim?

a)

George Wyman

b)

Byron Noble

c)

Tom Bolles

d)

angus Hay Jr.

42.

Where was Joyce Simdar sent to live with an aunt after her family's home burned down?

a)

Smithville, Kansas

b)

New York, New York

c)

Great Falls, Montana

d)

Newark, New Jersey

43.

On what date did Joyce Simdar's family home burn to the ground?

a)

March 4, 1933

b)

September 29, 1929

c)

March 11, 1911

d)

October 9, 1926

44.

Who was Joe Rantz's music teacher in Sequim?

a)

Miss Stanley

b)

Miss Willis

c)

Miss Flatebo

d)

Miss Paul

45.

How many acres was the "stump farm" that Harry Rantz purchased in Sequim?

a)

93 acres

b)

160 acres

c)

10 acres

d)

45 acres

46.

What kind of shop did Harry Rantz run in Sequim, Washington in 1925?

a)

An auto repair shop

b)

An antique clock shop

c)

A candy shop

d)

A butcher shop

47.

Who was the architect of he Reichssportfeld complex for the 1936 Olympic Games?

a)

Theodor Lewald

b)

Wilhelm Frick

c)

Werner March

d)

Hermann Goring

e)

Joseph Goebbels

48.

Why did Harry Rantz move his family to Boulder City?

a)

Harry acquired a job as an auto mechanic in a repair shop in Boulder City

b)

Harry had relatives who lived in Boulder City who agreed to help Thula raise the Rantz children

c)

Harry worked as a master mechanic for a mining company in Boulder City

d)

Harry wanted his children to receive a good education; Boulder City had one of the most academically prestigious high schools in the area

e)

Harry owed money to debt collectors and Boulder City was remote enough to provide the family with a hiding place from collection agents

49.

When Harry Rantz acquired a job at the Hama Hama Logging Company, where did Joe Rantz go to live?

a)

His Aunt Alma's house in Pennsylvania

b)

His older brother, Fred's house in Nezperce, Idaho

c)

The Rantz family farm in Sequim

d)

The Schwartz family home near the Hama Hama Logging Company's camp

e)

The McCloud family farm in Sequim

50.

George Yeoman Pocock won the prestigious Doggett's Coat and Badge rowing race when he was seventeen

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

51.

As a child, Joe Rantz became seriously ill with typhoid fever

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

52.

In 1903 at Kitty Hawk, Oroville and Wilbur Wright completed the first flight of an engine powered airplane

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

53.

What is the only item Harry Rantz saved from the house fire in Spokane?

a)

Joe's banjo

b)

Nellie's piano

c)

Thula's violin

d)

The oars for the fishing boat

e)

His tool box

54.

Why were the 1916 Olympic Games in Berlin canceled?

a)

Hitler was not willing to have them

b)

World War I was being fought in Europe

c)

The Spanish Flu pandemic made it unsafe

d)

The United Nations recommended they be canceled for fear of violence

55.

Why was Hitler originally opposed to hosting the Olympic Games in Berlin?

a)

He felt the games were frivolous and unnecessary

b)

The Olympic ideal of all nations being equal in competition went against his beliefs about the superiority of the Aryan people

c)

The Spanish Flu pandemic made it unsafe

d)

The United Nations recommended the games be canceled for fear of violence

56.

Head Coach

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

57.

Freshman rowing coach at Washington

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

58.

Often felt that he did not belong

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

59.

Married Thula

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

60.

Built racing shells

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

61.

Ulbrickson was NOT talkative

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

62.

Thula was described as "an attractive woman."

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

63.

Joe Pocock knew a lot about rowing boats

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

64.

Whose quotes are used at the start of each chapter?

a)

Joe Rantz

b)

Tom Bolles

c)

Al Ulbrickson

d)

Harry Rantz

e)

George Pocock

65.

Harry never finished the house in Sequim

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

66.

Thula did not like farm life

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

67.

When Harry and Thula leave Sequim they try to take Joe, but Joe refuses to go

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

68.

Joe was unable to survive in the family home by himself

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

69.

What instrument did Joe learn to play?

a)

Trumpet

b)

Banjo

c)

Violin

d)

Organ

e)

Saxophone

70.

For whom did Joyce work while in college?

a)

Policeman

b)

Fireman

c)

Mayor

d)

Judge

e)

Senator

71.

The Great Depression did not affect the people of Sequim all that much

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

72.

Joyce loved to do household cleaning

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

73.

When Joe first played his musical instrument with his teammates, they made fun of him

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

74.

The name given to eight oarsmen rowing in perfect unison is

a)

Swing

b)

Zone

c)

Row-fast

d)

Boatswain

e)

Coxswain

75.

Joe's old car was a

a)

Chevy

b)

Ford

c)

Rambler

d)

Franklin

e)

Jeep

76.

Thula played the

a)

Piano

b)

Guitar

c)

Violin

d)

Organ

e)

Banjo

77.

When Harry and Thula left the children alone, Joyce refused to care for them

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE

78.

Joyce showed more anger than Joe about the abandonment of Joe

a)

TRUE

b)

FALSE